Katherine Clark Delivers $80M To Increase Energy Efficiency

WALTHAM, MA — Assistant Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Katherine Clark, who represents the Fifth Congressional District, announced Tuesday that Massachusetts will be receiving $80,115,902 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP).

The Weatherization Assistance Program provides home insulation, updated heating and cooling systems, and upgraded electrical appliances to low-income families. These upgrades make homes warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, reducing energy usage, and lowering energy bills. In addition, the program creates green jobs in Massachusetts.

“Families across the Commonwealth are facing higher costs on everything from gas to child care to heating,” said Clark in a statement. "Thanks to the Infrastructure Law passed by Democrats and signed into law by President Biden, families will be able to save money on weatherization upgrades to their homes – like installing insulation or new heating and cooling units. The Weatherization Assistance Program will bring down overall energy costs and make homes greener. That is a great help for a family’s budget and the planet.”

Across the country, two-thirds of low-income households devote over six percent of their income to utility bills alone, yet only two percent of the 38 million eligible homes are weatherized each year.

Since 1976, WAP has served over seven million households and delivered an average of $372 in annual energy savings for American families. In total, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides more than $62 billion for the Department of Energy to invest in a more equitable, clean energy future.

Click here to read more about the Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program.